Europe drives institutional crypto adoption: Blockchain Expo Amsterdam
Europe remains fertile ground for the cryptocurrency ecosystem to flourish compared with harsher regulatory environments, according to prominent speakers at Blockchain Expo Europe 2023 in Amsterdam.
Cointelegraph attended the event held at the RAI Amsterdam convention center for the second year running, with the Blockchain Expo forming part of a larger Tech Expo event being hosted in the Netherlands.
The event has typically attracted prominent mainstream industry players from the financial world to showcase how blockchain technology is being leveraged to power innovative new products and solutions across a myriad of industries.
From finance, logistics, healthcare and marketing, blockchain technology and Web3 functionality continues to be a key growth area for different industry players.
MiCA bodes well for institutional adoption
Regulatory matters remain front and center, as was evident in a fireside chat featuring Coinbase institutional sales co-head James Morek and Zodia Markets co-founder Nick Philpott.
Philpott described the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations as a progressive regulatory measure to guide the growth of the sector while protecting users.
“Institutions feel more comfortable knowing that there is a framework within which they can operate, which is at odds with what is happening in countries like America.”
Philpott’s reference to the United States’ regulatory landscape centered on a cloud of uncertainty over the cryptocurrency ecosystem. This has been primarily driven by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s separate enforcement actions against key industry players, including Coinbase, Ripple and Binance.US, for alleged securities violations.
Morek, who heads up Coinbase’s institutional sales in the EMEA and APAC regions, also highlighted the establishment of clear regulatory parameters across the EU and in the United Kingdom, which have helped crypto-related firms continue to do business.
Off-the-record conversations also suggest that major players like Coinbase continue attracting interest from institutional clients looking to gain exposure or custody of certain cryptocurrencies outside the United States.
Related: EU’s new crypto law: How MiCA can make Europe a digital asset hub
This includes many potential clients, ranging from traditional fund managers, large corporations, private banks and a variety of businesses. Morek told Cointelegraph that Coinbase currently serves over 1,300 institutional customers globally.
Legal frameworks that have long allowed companies to have both onshore and offshore entities continue to be an important element in allowing cryptocurrency exchanges and companies to offer services in different jurisdictions.
Philpott also highlighted the United Arab Emirates as a fast-growing crypto and Web3 hub actively looking to attract the biggest firms in the industry. Binance has already established a foothold in the UAE, while Coinbase was reportedly exploring setting up a base of operations in the jurisdiction earlier in 2023.
A tokenized future
Tokenization remains a drawcard for various institutions, including mainstream banks and financial firms looking to issue and manage debt and investments.
Cointelegraph also spoke to Martijn Siebrand, digital assets ecosystem manager of Dutch bank ABN AMRO. He shared insights into ABN AMRO’s recent issuance of a digital green bond using Polygon’s layer-2 Ethereum scaling technology to raise 5 million euros ($5.3 million).
Siebrand said that blockchain technology is proving to be a useful tool for banks to better serve capital markets:
“It’s funny, if we have now talks within the bank, people say capital markets have been there for a long time already yet we haven’t seen many innovations. This could be one major change where a lot of banks are investing in.“
Siebrand added that ABN AMRO is already showcasing its blockchain-based digital bond exploits at conferences and exhibitions to both capital market players like mainstream banks, as well as private companies looking to raise funds:
“We see two tracks. We have the institutional one serving traditional capital markets. But we also have the chance to help clients that are too big for crowdfunding but too small for capital markets.”
Siebrand added that tokenized debt offerings can be useful for companies that want to avoid selling equity. However, jurisdictional regulatory frameworks need to be further developed before ABN AMRO can create a working roadmap to further its blockchain tokenization offerings:
“We think that private markets involving private issuances, which are one-on-one or with two or three investors, that will be easier to to scale than the institutional one.”
NFTs remain valuable for institutions
Mia Van, EMEA lead for blockchain and digital assets at Mastercard, delved into the value of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) for institutional users. The sector has produced $1.9 billion in sales volumes over the past year, according to Van, with the average number of Web3 wallets increasing despite sellers dominating NFT marketplaces in recent months.
According to Van, luxury brands such as Breitling and Louis Vuitton actively use NFTs to provide digital twins of items that prove their provenance. Meanwhile, mainstream brands like Adidas and Nike continue to explore NFTs and metaverse activations that give users ownership of objects in both the physical world and metaverse environments.
Related: NFT-styled debit cards the future of Web3 — Animoca founder on $30M Hi investment
Mastercard is also becoming part and parcel of the Web3 ecosystem. Earlier this year, Animoca Brands announced a $30 million investment in neobank platform Hi. A unique offering of the platform is a customizable NFT-styled crypto debit card. Users can stylize their Mastercard with NFTs they digitally own, allowing them to show off that prized Bored Ape in the physical world.
Van would not be drawn to comment on Mastercard’s blockchain and digital asset strategy and partnerships.
Magazine: Blockchain detectives: Mt. Gox collapse saw birth of Chainalysis
Sir Keir Starmer has said the government will not relax visa rules for India, as he embarks upon a two-day trade trip to Mumbai.
The prime minister touched down this morning with dozens of Britain’s most prominent business people, including bosses from BA, Barclays, Standard Chartered, BT and Rolls-Royce.
Follow updates in the Politics Hub
The first full-blown trade mission to India since Theresa May was prime minister, it’s designed to boost ties between the two countries.
Sir Keir – whose face has been plastered over posters and billboards across Mumbai – will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, five months after the UK signed the first trade deal with India since Brexit.
The agreement has yet to be implemented, with controversial plans to waive national insurance for workers employed by big Indian businesses sent to the UK still the subject of a forthcoming consultation.
Sir Keir Starmer with his business delegation. Pic: PA
However, the business delegation is likely to use the trip to lobby the prime minister not to put more taxes on them in the November budget.
Sir Keir has already turned down the wish of some CEOs on the trip to increase the number of visas.
Speaking to journalists on the plane on the way out, he said: “The visa situation hasn’t changed with the free trade agreement, and therefore we didn’t open up more visas.”
He told business that it wasn’t right to focus on visas, telling them: “The issue is not about visas.
“It’s about business-to-business engagement and investment and jobs and prosperity coming into the UK.”
Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer during a press conference in July. Pic: PA
No birthday wishes for Putin
The prime minister sidestepped questions about Mr Modi’s support of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom he wished a happy birthday on social media. US President Donald Trump has increased tariffs against India, alleging that Indian purchases of Russian oil are supporting the war in Ukraine.
Asked about Mr Modi wishing Mr Putin happy birthday, and whether he had leverage to talk to Mr Modi about his relationship with Russia, Sir Keir sidestepped the question.
“Just for the record, I haven’t… sent birthday congratulations to Putin, nor am I going to do so,” he said.
“I don’t suppose that comes as a surprise. In relation to energy, and clamping down on Russian energy, our focus as the UK, and we’ve been leading on this, is on the shadow fleet, because we think that’s the most effective way.
“We’ve been one of the lead countries in relation to the shadow fleet, working with other countries.”
PM: We aren’t forcing wealthy people out
Sir Keir refused to give business leaders any comfort about the budget and tax hikes, despite saying in his conference speech that he recognised the last budget had an impact.
“What I acknowledged in my conference, and I’ve acknowledged a number of times now, is we asked a lot of business in the last budget. It’s important that I acknowledge that, and I also said that that had helped us with growth and stabilising the economy,” he added. “I’m not going to make any comment about the forthcoming budget, as you would expect; no prime minister or chancellor ever does.”
Asked if too many wealthy people were leaving London, he said: “No. We keep a careful eye on the figures, as you would expect.
“The measures that we took at the last budget are bringing a considerable amount of revenue into the government which is being used to fix things like the NHS. We keep a careful eye on the figures.”
Politics
Spying trial collapsed after government refused to brand China a threat, says top prosecutor
A Chinese spying trial collapsed last month after the UK government would not label Beijing a national security threat, a top prosecutor has said.
Christopher Berry, 33, and former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, were accused of espionage for China.
But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on 15 September that the charges would be dropped, sparking criticism from Downing Street and MPs.
Berry, of Witney, Oxfordshire, and Cash, from Whitechapel, east London, had denied accusations of providing information prejudicial to the interests of the state in breach of the Official Secrets Act between December 2021 and February 2023.
Politics latest: Badenoch insists ‘Jenrick is not the Tory leader’
Director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson. Pic: PA
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions (DPP), told MPs in a letter on Tuesday that the CPS had tried “over many months” to get the evidence it needed to carry out the prosecution, but it had not been forthcoming from the Labour government.
However, Sir Keir Starmer insisted the decision to brand China a threat would have to have been taken under the last Conservative administration.
The prime minister said: “You can’t prosecute someone two years later in relation to a designation that wasn’t in place at the time.”
It is understood that the decision to end the case came after a meeting of senior officials which, according to The Sunday Times, included Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, and Sir Oliver Robins, the Foreign Office’s top diplomat.
To prove the case under the Official Secrets Act of 1911, prosecutors would have to show the defendants were acting for an “enemy”.
Both the current Labour government and the previous Conservative governments have not labelled China a risk to national security.
In his letter to the chairs of the Commons home and justice select committees, Mr Parkinson said: “It was considered that further evidence should be obtained.
“Efforts to obtain that evidence were made over many months, but notwithstanding the fact that further witness statements were provided, none of these stated that at the time of the offence China represented a threat to national security, and by late August 2025 it was realised that this evidence would not be forthcoming.
“When this became apparent, the case could not proceed.”
He also pointed out that in a separate case about Russian spying last year, a judge ruled that an “enemy” under the 1911 Act must be a country that represents a threat to national security of the UK “at the time of the offence”.
The prime minister answered reporters’ questions about the collapse of the case while on a flight to Mumbai. Pic: PA
How has the government responded?
Sir Keir has addressed the contents of the letter, which he said he had “read at speed”, while on board a flight to Mumbai, as part of the UK’s largest ever trade mission to India.
The PM said: “What matters is what the designation [of China] was in 2023, because that’s when the offence was committed and that’s when the relevant period was.
“Statements were drawn up at the time according to the then government policy, and they haven’t been changed in relation to it, that was the position then.
“I might just add, nor could the position change, because it was the designation at the time that matters.”
Sir Keir, a former director of public prosecutions, added that he wasn’t “saying that defensively”, but because “as a prosecutor, I know that… it is what the situation at the time that matters”.
He also declined to criticise the CPS or the DPP, as he said “it’s wise not to”.
Since the alleged spying offences took place, the new National Security Act has superseded elements of the 1911 Act.
But Conservatives, including shadow home secretary Chris Philp, insist that Sir Keir has “very serious questions to personally answer”.
The AFL-CIO says the Senate’s crypto framework bill “provides the facade of regulation” that would expose workers’ retirement funds to risky assets.
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